The Reel Rejects - AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007) MOVIE REVIEW!! First Time Watching!

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Starting point is 00:00:46 Celebrate in a fashion responsible. You have to have the age legal for consuming the alcohol. Thank you to Huell and Shopify for sponsoring this video. More on them in just a bit. Very excited for this two and a half hour movie. So, yeah, I know it's long, and I know Denzel's in it.

Starting point is 00:01:05 So without any further ado, let's watch American Gangster. And three, two, getting it. All right, audio listeners, we have just finished for our very first time, American Gangster. What a film it was. That's one of my favorite things we've watched. I wholeheartedly agree. That was incredible. And it only got better.

Starting point is 00:01:31 Yeah. Like in my years of rejects, one of my favorite things. It's certainly my favorite thing we've watched. And, like, airplane was like pure joy. But, like, cinema just happened. Wholehearted cinema, full, unadulterated. And I'm glad I got to experience her the first time with you. Dude, that was so much fun.

Starting point is 00:01:47 Yeah. I don't know if any other reject would be as excited to see T.I. Not to belittle the whole experience. Like, I don't want to make it about that. But there were so many moments, I was like, glad Aaron's here. No, no, for real. There's no other reject would have them. The Unified T-I moment.

Starting point is 00:02:01 I just couldn't believe Rubber Band Man was on my screen. So for me, that is up there with heat, with the great mafia crime sagas, with, you know, any number of the classic movies. And I have to ask, why is that not in those conversations? I don't know. Because, like, I think it's well-regarded, but that should be like, it should go from well-regarded to iconic. 100%. Because that's an iconic film. You don't hear people talk about it that much.

Starting point is 00:02:32 You know that it's obviously well liked, and I've seen the My Man stuff before, but no, that should be in the, the top echelon of gangster movies, of crime stories. You mentioned Heat and the table scene, like, that is, you know, referenced every day in colleges and, like, you know, like, film colleges and stuff. And, like, you know, Heat obviously inspired The Dark Night so heavily. And I just feel like American gangster is it because it's newer? Like, will it get there? It's about 20 years old at this point.

Starting point is 00:02:58 And Heat's been big for at least. least 20 years and he's 30 years old. That's crazy. So I, but I took heat. It was a classic, but like it took heat a little time. But this is now past the time it took heat. So yeah. But also the fact of this is based on a true story.

Starting point is 00:03:12 That's so crazy. I'm like, what? I won. How we just not heard about this in just, in life, just through history? Well, the right people pay a good money to not have corruption note. Fair. Yeah, but like I had a whole feature film made about it. And it went to the years.

Starting point is 00:03:27 And I imagine, I would hope it was someone was nominated for something for this movie i assume the people that don't want people to talk about i'd be like oh bunch of liberals in california making fun of polis of course uh so like that's my take is like movies that are going at the systems don't get talked about because the systems are good at PRing because they're systems yeah uh another good example of that is um under the sober like you've seen that movie i haven't but i've heard good things oh it's great they buried the crap out of that movie because it goes after hollywood well gregg like didn't under, Greg didn't know

Starting point is 00:04:02 in like a common knowledge way that crack and heroin was brought in by the government to like destabilize culture and like to like affect certain communities. He had never heard that concept and like I was really surprised because we were watching

Starting point is 00:04:17 I think it was boys in the hood the first time he had that like concept but that is to show like Greg's a smart person. Greg is worldly. Greg's like informed Greg's from here but he didn't know. No. And that's the systems at play. Exactly.

Starting point is 00:04:32 So that's what I think. Like maybe this movie should be like what, what's heat going after? What do you mean? Like heat is like bad guys are bad. Be a cop. Cop. Good cop, bad cop.

Starting point is 00:04:44 Yeah. This is Nicholas Cage. This is, this is saying a lot and it's based on a true story. Maybe it's not to be conspiracy theory, but like this movie should be loved. Yeah, but also took place such a long time ago, but obviously because the guy. governments involved. They're like, let's just keep some attention off of this film.

Starting point is 00:05:03 And really Scott has such a wide category of films. But yeah, this should definitely be up there higher. And yeah, not only with things like the crime stories, but I'm just, it's wild the how deep it went and how transformative it was for New York, the East Coast. And just how it's weird because it's like it's a story of like someone who's technically a prominent black figure but he's also like

Starting point is 00:05:32 did some really shitty things but he all it's it's crazy because two more days of February here you prominent black figure Frank Lucas Aaron is like well here we are

Starting point is 00:05:43 is that the direction you're going no no no it's bad bad bad Frank Lucas but are you saying it's surprising you hadn't heard of the actual person exactly got you got you got you I'm surprised that I wasn't super well versed in what he has done because it's it's screwed up because he did

Starting point is 00:06:02 I got presumably from what this movie is saying he did a lot for the black community both positively and negatively he destroyed a lot of lives but he's also given out turkeys on Thanksgiving and like giving black people jobs so it's like oh it's but it's it's it's really awful but the fact that this movie is able to show what he's done as a person show the nuance of how he was affecting his family in doing that but also not

Starting point is 00:06:29 shying away from the fact that he destroyed lives while also juxtaposing that with Russell Crow's character and his

Starting point is 00:06:37 I guess I'm not according to his life but for the sake of this argument altruism in his lack of willingness to be corrupt

Starting point is 00:06:46 but at the constant of his personal life we believe very strongly in one thing the rest was messy like that's what it was so interesting

Starting point is 00:06:52 I love that the dude was was so sure about one thing, but everything else in his life was a mess, and he couldn't take care of anything. And I really loved how much this is about family versus not family. Like, this is about a man taking care of his own versus a guy that lives by a code of ethics

Starting point is 00:07:08 that didn't really have a life. No, like that code of positive or... Like, that code of ethics didn't get them. Like, I love the fact that Denzel Washington was the Thanksgiving scene. I love the fact that Denzel Washington, had this this ethics but it was so messy and like literally dealing death and then that was like

Starting point is 00:07:31 supporting his family and all those things but like none of that's acceptable and they didn't let that be acceptable we mentioned a few times like they'd intercut scenes of like the horrors he did and i think that's where like this succeeded at times where some i love martin's corsese people think i don't because i don't like some of the things he's had to say but like i think he's a genius which is why when he says things that i think hurt the movie theater industry i get mad because i respect Martin Scorsese, but I think Martin Scorsese at times glamorizes criminals in a way that is not balanced. And this balanced it more. It didn't balance it enough to where you're still not like, cool, but it did at least give you the weight of like, he's causing irreparable harm to communities and culture and lives. And then I really think it's interesting that they kept Russell Crow still on the line of like, this dude's life sucks because he believes in this one thing and that's it.

Starting point is 00:08:21 Yeah. And like no one wins in this movie. No, not really. I guess technically he knew he succeeded as a lawyer, but who knows what became of his family? And did he go to Nevada and become a better father after this? All we know is that he defended the dude that was the bad guy. Yeah, because he was an informant.

Starting point is 00:08:37 And it sucks that we live in a world where it's, you know, we forgive smaller crimes so we can get the bigger fish. Like the one guy who was going to kill his girlfriend. His girl on the street. In broad, in broad daylight, or not daylight, but you know what I mean. Under a bright light. Under a bright light, just to get Frank Lucas. I'm sure that guy got off because Frank Lucas was the thing that they were actually after.

Starting point is 00:09:02 Yeah. And then Frank Lucas got out in 15 years because they were after the cops. Like at the end of the day, he wasn't even the big fish. Right. The system was the fish. Yeah, and he's the price that the system had to pay. So to get him out. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:09:13 So 15 years is not, he probably killed thousands of people. Oh, yeah. And like some, he shot a guy on the street and served 15 years. But it's also a testament to show how much influence. he had because it's like this the the the dichotomy of his his impact because he had so much power and influence and trust within his black community that he could kill somebody in broad daylight and nobody says anything right but he's also destroying so many lives I swear that scene where the the baby's on the bed with the mom over overdosing is going to be burned into my brain yeah with that crossing background with the lighting like coming in that was so painfully powerful but like even when with that you've got him russar crow coming to defend after knowing all of that yeah because he's like well you you you helped me out in cleaning up the city but oh it's and i don't i want to know more about that because that line you're like we had to have so much happen i want american gangster

Starting point is 00:10:14 too please please give us american gangster too i mean he served 15 years this movie about 20 years ago it's time to play him like i want to know what happened in the defense i want to know what's happened And now, like, that was crazy. Also, like, just the idea of, of what it means to affect a third of the police, it was a third or two-thirds of the DEA. I think it was two-thirds. Two-thirds. So that kind of irreparable, like, change to the system, what's that system like now? Because there's so much police corruption at all times.

Starting point is 00:10:45 What changed in how they keep an eye on stuff? And, like, you know, now we have body cams that are off and off. Like, what, when something that big happens, not only have we not heard about it, but what changes happen that have now been like slowly eroded? Yeah. What's American Gangster 2 in 2025, I mean? Like, what is the thing that's happening in our culture? And what's the thing to keep that from happening again? Right.

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Starting point is 00:12:31 side. You can sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com slash rejects. Once again, that's Shopify.com slash rejects. Thank you Shopify for positively affecting our lives. Reject Nation, January 25th of this year, I weighed 218 pounds. As of a few days I now weigh 181 and six-pack Greg is incoming. One of the many things that has helped me stay consistent is having smart, easy go-toes. Like Hewles, Black Edition, ready to drink meals. It's a complete meal in a bottle, baby.

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Starting point is 00:14:12 Man, and also, I don't think they touched on it, like the military corruption aspect of that as well. because they were the ones helping and bring the drugs into the city in the first place. And that was the part where, like, you know, we can't have that get out because it'll, it'll look like the exact thing that's happening. And that's why I'm like, I'm going to, and again, this might be a conspiracy theory, but is that why people don't talk about this movie? Possibly.

Starting point is 00:14:31 Possibly. Because, yeah, it's so funny that this has happened. All the comments are going to be like, it's the most talked about movie. You guys are so woke. Everyone has talked about this movie, except you. No, man. I think you, maybe it's been a few years since you've watched it, but I'm watching the Punisher right now and all the daredevil stuff so it's relevant for this conversation of the sack the fact that

Starting point is 00:14:51 in punisher the reason why um that series exists is because he's part of an operation where they had an off book government operation to funnel drugs and heroin back through through bodies and bring them back into the state so this is paralleled really directly yeah no exactly this just happened or just experienced this as the time of us watching this so that's not something that's unprecedented um i And I just wonder, like, man, it's crazy that the system and corruption works so in tandemly like that. But we also have criminals that can capitalize on that in the government in an effort to clean up what they were, other parts that were involved with, are willing to let people get off for the sake of that. I'm like, oh, man, is there winning? Is there good?

Starting point is 00:15:37 Is there justice? I don't know. And I love the scene of him saying, like, you know, those aren't my people. the Italians are your people like that is what he's saying like there are good cops there are people doing it for the right reasons yeah but like we have his force and there are too same you and I'm not saying that's the number now but I'm saying like obviously corruption happens in any position of power yeah but it's also just this interesting thing but the fact that he was overlooked because he was a black gangster and like oh no only the Italians can have monopoly over this why we would have never would have been none the wiser because There's just so much history of them doing that from, like, what, like the early 1900s onward up into this point and then him monopolizing that because he's, he's smarting and gaining the system to go directly. I'm like, oh, man, it's, it sucks.

Starting point is 00:16:28 And also his rationale for it. It's like, if people are going to do that stuff anyway, I might as well be the one capitalizing on it. Like, I mean, I think that's everyone's rationale when you, no one thinks they're a bad guy. No, of course. So it's like, what are you willing to do until you write off your own humanity? like what when do you start to fade away from like what your ethics and morals are if you're rationalizing this sort of thing like everyone that's doing wrong stuff has a reason for it yeah

Starting point is 00:16:51 and it's just rationale after rationale until you've kind of lost the essence of humanity but you're not going to see that like because you're rationalizing it and like the man like so the acting amazing writing is some of the best uh like some of the writing i was struck by in like the paralleling uh directing by the ridley scott astounding like i really just like this I feel like Ridley Scott gets talked about for Alien and for obviously Gladiator and, you know, those movies. But man, he made a Scorsese-esque meet Michael Man-esque crime thriller. Like this felt like heat and Scorsese to me. Yeah, no, I definitely agree with that.

Starting point is 00:17:27 I've watched both of those filmmakers, both on the channel and in my personal life. And I can wholeheartedly agree with that. And it also speaks of the diversity of Ridley Scott as a filmmaker as well to make something like an alien. or to make something like a gladiator to make something like this it's really impressive and to show what it's the experience of what it's like to be a police in this time but also show the experience of what it's like to be black and the gangster in this time in spite of the fact that you have no sort of um meanwhile yeah he's like a 60 year old man at the time or whatever is is really scott american i think he's like 75 uh i think he's british yeah to be to be a british guy who has no

Starting point is 00:18:05 stake in this world but show it in an in an authentic raw light i don't know if he's british or he's just doesn't care about anything he's just so flipping like he's just so like screw it yeah no he's like he's granted we're not going to say that he's had like banger after bang after banger he has a lot of classics this is a banger but this is definitely a banger like he he has the diversity that could be talked about with someone like stephen spillberg grand i feel like stephen spilberg has a stronger track record overall but as far as his his hits are big hits big hits yeah but as far as his ability to capture perspective and then duality of two people's perspective and different world

Starting point is 00:18:41 within the same sort of environment it was really really impressive I thought this is phenomenally pace phenomenally written and I'm just excited and surprised that I don't know how many people

Starting point is 00:18:54 were in this movie this cast is banana I'm gonna give it like five years and then watch the three hour cut like I want to give it enough time to like not have every moment too memorized and then like in five years

Starting point is 00:19:03 I want to watch that three hour yeah yeah allow your brain to accept and forget it like remember moments but that way I can have that rush again. I don't like watching movies like right after. I don't like watching the director's cut right after. Okay.

Starting point is 00:19:17 You know there's another thing I knew about this movie? Apparently, because I went to go Ohio to visit my parents because they live out there. Apparently my mom, my grandma watched this movie all the time. She's watched this like between December and now. Are we just out of the loop?

Starting point is 00:19:30 Is this like Jaws? Like, is this like one of the biggest movies of all the time? Is this Jurassic Park? I don't know. My grandma's watched at least three times in the last two months. at the very least i don't know

Starting point is 00:19:41 way better at movies than us she's way more colder than we are that's what she does she her life is movies and her bad got four and a half stars got two oscar nominations wow i don't know what we were doing i wonder what was nominated for let's check that and we got a boogie yeah yeah uh let's see boogie on down it is american gangster

Starting point is 00:19:59 let's see nominations this is the most riveting you guys are watching me type hope you're enjoying it typing uh screen actors guild for outstanding performance BAFTA for best film oh we got nominated for those I'm gonna see two Oscar nominations best

Starting point is 00:20:16 okay okay guys this movie was this good no disrespect to these two awards but where are the rest of the awards two Oscar nominations one for best art direction and one for best supporting actress for Ruby D

Starting point is 00:20:27 Ruby D I'm looking Ruby D obviously everyone oh she was I think what's his wife American gangster oh the

Starting point is 00:20:38 grandma the mom oh she was incredible in those she only had a couple of scenes but they were always powerful yeah that scene with her slap and denzil was everything yeah but nobody else though that's surprising that's why that's what i'm saying no disrespect but also where are the rest of the nominations because that was like best picture nom good that was best writing nom if not win for sure no disrespect to you know those two and noms but like where's the rest where's the rest denzil smacking coffees around man man man's come on that was at least seven my man's it was incredible amount of my man's not just from him A solid my man from Cuba as well.

Starting point is 00:21:10 Yeah, who had a cameo in this movie? Who spoke those scenes? That one scene and cameoed throughout. Yes. Yeah, I got a boogie out of here, but that was a three-hour experience that I adored. What a movie. I'm so glad we watched it together. I definitely feel like it's one of those movies that's so specific in its goodness and also specific in its nature.

Starting point is 00:21:29 It's really fun to watch with someone that, like, has the same sensibilities about, like, what New York in that time was. Because neither of us were around. Neither of us watched like 70s movies. growing up. Not really not. So like this to me was like uniquely a 70s gangster film without like a lot of association. Yeah. So it was really cool to plus like T.I.

Starting point is 00:21:45 But like it was really fun to watch with someone that wouldn't have had like, oh, this feels like too much like blank or blank. It got to be its own thing. Yeah. I appreciate it. I had a really good time given the context of what the movie is watching it with you. Same. Four and a half stars out of five for me and apparently for Amazon as well.

Starting point is 00:22:01 That is going to do it. Reject Nation. Much love. Leave a like. Leave a comment. Let us know if everyone else on the planet has seen this movie. and we just missed it but this I feel like should have been bigger

Starting point is 00:22:11 yell at us in the comments I'm sure it's inevitable I did dance around things because the world is political and thus movies about the world are but please let us know in the comments please leave a like and please subscribe for not already much love for rejection

Starting point is 00:22:23 we'll see you soon all right it's the rogue 808 American gangster there's anyone at our channel who is an American gangster it's the rogue 808 definitely I mean

Starting point is 00:22:38 Listen to the title in it of itself, American gangster. Roe 808, dude vanishes, shows back up. Oh. Giving us a bunch of Moolah, no idea where the Mula has come from. Crime. What's more a gangster than that? Yeah. Him committing crimes all over Hawaii.

Starting point is 00:22:54 Capp and fools asses. There's a lot of crime. There's a lot of crime. Dog the bounty hunter, man. It's a whole show, Hawaii 50 for a reason. And that's a title that's been on for decades. They just brought it back because there's so much crime. And that's what Roeate O.A contributes to, dude.

Starting point is 00:23:08 He is a master criminal, and you want to be friends with a gangster like Roe v. Truth. You want to have you pay for protection. That's why every time he shows up at my door, he's like, I'm getting taxed. He's coming to collect, you know? He helps keeps us safe. If we want to keep operating YouTube channel in that neighborhood, be a shame for something to happen to it, you know?

Starting point is 00:23:28 That's why you pay your taxes. Neighbors across the street, they had a channel next thing you know, a giant fire. Next thing you know, that fire spreads all over California. Burn down their kneecaps. Oh, because of Rogue 808. Yeah, right. Dang, he might be from Hawaii, but he'd be patrolling these streets in California. He's like the Santa Claus of Crime.

Starting point is 00:23:45 Oh, absolutely. So, Rogued away. Thank you so much for being here, re-pleging. And I hope that Hawaii feels a little bit more scared and safe in your hands.

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The Reel Rejects - AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007) MOVIE REVIEW!! First Time Watching!

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